Forget zebra crossings, in Florida alligators know how to cross the street safely

Alligators not only know how to ring the doorbell when they pay you a visit, they also know how to follow simple traffic rules.

Earlier this month, FCSO Corporal Kenny Goncalves and Deputy Jonathon Duenas of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office stopped traffic at the intersection of Cypress Point Parkway and Cypress Edge Drive in Palm Coast, Florida, to let an alligator cross the street safely.

The gator, which was over five feet long, was seen hanging around the bushes near the intersection when it suddenly decided to scamper across the street.

Using the crosswalk, of course. Because, you know, traffic laws and such.

“He just walked in the crosswalk like it was normal,” said Goncalves.

The reptile took about 30 seconds to cross the road, according to a Facebook post by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. The post included a photo of the alligator on the crosswalk, with Goncalves and Duenas, and a bunch of stopped cars in the background.

The photo was taken by Mark Olson, a Citizens Observer Program member of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

Also according to the post, a trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called, but the gator made it to a wooded area before the trapper arrived on the scene, so that call was cancelled.

The post has earned over 400 comments and has been shared over 3400 times. Many commenters commended the alligator for knowing and following traffic laws, and even said it knows the law better than most of the folks living there. Other commenters commended the police for leaving the creature alone and letting it cross the street safely.

Well, it’s not the first time that gators have done something that made viral posts. We’ve already seen the one where the gator casually saunters up the front door and tries to ring the doorbell of a home in South Carolina, where you can call authorities to deal with nuisance alligators.